Myths

The StorY of Creation'

ffinguian)
there were only the sea and the
Tlnguianes believe that in the beginning
plitt to alight' do:'*1t"d-lo,TJ T::1
thnt one day a kite, having to
her
deciared war against the skv' and threw

;; ';;
il::.k;. il;ffi;
ihiu, *'d" t::lY
The sky, ,"l.i"s-fo'
in;;i,
"l"f::"r:jl,l':f:: .T:ilH;
';i;r;lf
?
that he
having dartd io.ts'ert herself' thev say
h".
"P;;
;i;;; ; ;"" all th e isl an d' "j ln*'j:h'p'1"i:'-:1:*::::
:::f:,"1"":
being able to rise aspin'
'?"l1t,l':T
lffi; ;;;; i;; without
'n"
vengeance
.t:1 T^:::'l:
;;t;;; the custom of the maaaris-that is' taking
they consider it a point,of

this land; and

d, n very common pru.ti"t in
r11a
also the s1o1 of
relate
lfre
to tnke revenge' Then thev
1i::1"::
Cavahi gave birth
time
first
the
that
add
fftey
Itl mnn and woman **t oi.rt'
One day the father'went
forth a great numbeTt

":*'

*i.rl, ,fr. brought

tt ."rt".t.d-th e children' Tht t":1": ltl",T lT:::i

:.tf:
,."*, .rrrre house; some hid in other ptaces nearer the
ilil-i*
or walls
drt rome hid themselves in the dtndinu'
and t:T: {1"d to the sea through
nd of reeds; some hid in the fireplace;
is said that those *i:l:11:
It
tkror by which the father had entertd'
:l:
who remained nearer the
those
of these islands;
v6

ry rm gry

*d

ilffi#"

::

tt"tn:]Y:^1il:i,:i;

;,;;;;;^;i'ft

themselves.within t1:,*'"
erc the timaguas;those who hid
T: P^"-rtY-t::
and those who fled out to
*i" f,iJ them"selves in the fireplace are the blacks;that they had no news of us
the op",, doot *t the Spaniards'.and

through

the sea'
tr-ntil they beheld us return through

The Story of Creation2

(Ifugao)
he' they
was the greatest of all the gods' It was
To the lfugaos, Mak-no-ngan
of the dead'
rvad. who creat.d the earth and the place

m."r [,,

t*tca,

Lorr."r,"JL. WiJ,
"r,l I958), pp' 2-4'
(hmpany,

V Mnllari

ldut'nthrrr

Y' 125-27 ' Title supplied'

Philippine
Tabs]romthe Mountain Proaince (Manila:

ed4
"Relacion de las Islas Filipinas" in B

'[

lflrililtlrirrr l,irlli l,itclrr.trrrc: An Anthology , Danziarru

'l'lrc

Myths

ol'the dead was divided into many sections. The most importiltt
t.hese sr:ctions were Lagud and Daya. Lagud was set aside for those who died
sickness. 'fhey were the most favored by Mak-no-ngan. Daya was set aside
those who died of violence. They remained restless and unhappy, until their
were avenged by their relatives.
After Ma-k-no-ngan had created the earth, he made Uvigan in his i
Uvigan, then, was the first man. Mak-no-ngan gave him the entire earth to
But he remained unhappy just the same, because he was lonely.
seeing this, Mak-no-ngan made Bugan, the first woman. Then he told uvignr!
"Take this woman and be happy with her." And for many years the couple livod
in innocence, happiness, and peace.
Now, on the earth, there grew a tree which was different from any othen
From the very beginning, Mak-no-ngan had warned the couple against it. "Donrt
eat its fruit," he had told them, "because it is evil. It'll only make you unhappy.t,
But Mak-no-ngan's warning only made Bugan all the more curious about
the tree-especially since it was beautiful, and its fruit looked tempting. she tried
hard to keep away from it, but she could not help herself. Again and again, almost
against her will, her feet would Iead her to it. And her mouth would water as sho
gazed at the ripe fruit.
Finally, Bugan could not contain herself any longer. one day, she went straight
to the tree, plucked one of the fruits, and sank her teeth into it. It was good. she

right away' But little by little' they

lurpltcrtecl to Uvigan and Bugan
For
And thel'began to quarrel with each other'
I dh+ t,tttr.rttt'tl rlrrd r'rnhapp"y'
hHl rtttrrtrl tlrcil livcs'
children' But:h? *:t" all unruly' dis:::T::
tlVlg,*, trrrrl lltrg:r* bore many
reaving Bugan
i.,,s, u',igan died in deep so*ow'

il-,il;;;;;;;:^,T;;ft;. ;.-"

In t'tttr tlrr household.

tii,.":i',,,it;',,
and Bugan srew more and more
To punish them' he caused the rice
, r,,,f,f ,,. longer'control hi'' utgtt'
they had nothinglo eat'
t,r wirt,., and clie, so that, in the end,
u:*"",1i:'l
and surrering
Fffi ;;,i ;l;; ;;;
.children'
?111:
great:u"jl:T:,'i:*i
a
with
rhen,
*rsiilive'
two streams of milk flowed to the
[JI'"'',t-i- .]"d ;;;;; tn""i r'utd, until

tastes better than any other

fruit

"But what will Mak-no-ngan say?" asked Uvigan.

"IIe

doesn't need to know," said Bugan.

"He will, though," said Uvigan. "FIe's a god, and he has ways of finding out.,,
"Then why didn't he punish me the moment I plucked the fruit?,, Bugan
asked,
oJust

the same, it's wrong and wicked of you to have plucked and eaten the

fruitr" Uvigan pointed out. "You should not have disobeyed Mak-no-ngan.,,
Bugan, "I don't see, anylvay, why he should have forbidden us to
eat the lruit in the hrst place, unless he wants to save it for himself. But he can't
possibly ea.t all of it, There's plenry to spare."
o'Perhal>s
you're right," agreed Uvigan. "Let me have abite of the fruit.,,
Bugan gave it to him. He took a bite, and another, and another, as his eyes
lighted with pleasure.

"Well,"

saicl

y:Ti:::llYil"

;iu;[;"

;;;;;s"

;,,;;;;';;;; G

But' as it slowly ran

kept some of her children alive for a while'
about the welfare of her children' And
tltt' ltet:ittnr: more and more anxious
until blood flowed in torrents
to press her breasts harder and harder,

il;;,,,,', rnilk

rir;rtirrrrr,l
Itle p,rrrrrrrd.
took pity on her and
Hrrirrg llugan's sacritice, Mak-no-ngan

""

*ltlf:l:

lkt+ls,,ltrnrzrdethericeplantsgrowoncelnore'Thistime'however'someofthe
grains. The white grains were
bore red
slHlltr lror.t: white grains;irrit. Irr" others
blood'
her
were
grains
red
hiiuo"'* rrrill<, while the

Iiked it so much that she was seized with a desire to share it with Uvigan.
And so she went to lJvigan, saying, "Ilere, Uvigan, taste this.,,
"Isn't that the fruit that Mak-no-ngan forbade us to eat?,, Uvigan wanted to

"It

fathi*g

pla<:r:

know.
"Yes, and it's very good," said Bugan.
f've eaten."

Eugenio

The Creation of the World3

@ikol)
wt-ren the space
'l'lrousands and thousands of years ago' there was a time
and the earth
stars'
the
sun'
the
The moon'
lrt'r'ttpit:d by the universe was vacant'
and the sky
water
of
expanse
Onty the vast
w+tt r:onspicuous by their absence'
the great
of
rule
the
under
was
it could be seen' The kingdom ol the sky
,ri,,,u.'

g,,,tl,ong.ri,whilethewaterwasunderthesovereigntyofthegodTubigan'
Sea' who became the wife of Paros'
l,anguit had u du"ght"t called Dagat' the
tltt' wind, who was the son of Tubigan'
Paros, three of whom were boys called
l,bur children were born to Da[at and
I

)ngit, Aldao, and Bulan, and one girl namedBitoon'

rock; Aldao' a jolly fellow' had a
I)aga, a rtrorrg *'-t', po""""i a body of
while the beautiful
Bulan, a copper-made man' was a weakling;

lrotly of gold;
llitoon was made of Pure silver'

,,Bikol Folklore," in H. Otley Beyer, EthnogrtLptgt of

1-3'
65,
I'tpcr No.
PP.

; R.*.. B-""

the

Bikol Peopb,Yol'

ll'

Philippine Folk Literature: An Anthology . Daminna

After the

Myths

Eugenio

paros,

death of the father

Daga being the erdest son, succ0ed6d
the control of the winds. soon after, Dagat, the mother
died, leaving her ch
under the care of the grandparents Languit and Tubigan
After assuming the control of the winds, Daga became arrogant
and ambi
desiring to gain more power, so he induced his younger
brothers to attack
kingdom of Languit. At f,rrst they refused; at Daga's anger,
Buran and Aldao
constrained to join Daga in his plot.
Preparations were made and when everything was ready,
they set out on

d.rt.oy.a and thl

brothers succeeded in gaining entrance. But they were
met by the enraged gc{
Languit who sent out three bolts of lightning after them. All
of them were struch

by lightning. The copper body of Bulan melted into a ball

and so with the goldcn
body of Aldao. Daga's body felr into the sea and became
what is now the earth,
Their sister Bitoon, on cliscovering the absence of her brothers,
went out to
seek for them. But upon meeting the enraged god Languit,
Bitoon was struck alio

by another bolt of lightning which broke hertody into

many pieces.
rhen Languit descended from the sky and cailed rubigan
and accused hirn
of helpi,g their grandson in their attack on his kingclom. B"ut
Tirbigan defended
himself saying he has no knowredge about the attack for he
was asl"eep far down
into the sea. Tubigan succeeded in pacifying Languit and the
two regretted and
wept the loss of their grandchildren. since they could
not revive them, they gave
to each body a light.
Thus the body of Buran became the moon, Aldao became
the sun, and the
beautiful Bitoon became the stars in the heavens. But to
Daga they did not give
light and his body gave rise to the land on earth.
Tubigan then planted a seed which grew up into a bamboo
tree. From one
of its branches came a man and a woman, who became
the first parents of the
human race. Three children were born to them. one cared
Maisog invented a
fish trap' one day he ca,ght such a very big and grotesque
rookini whare that
he thought it was a god, so he ordered his people
to worship it. lne people
gathered around and began to pray; but no sooner
had they begun whe, gods
from the sky appeared and commanded Maisog to throw
the whale to the water
and worship no one but the gods. But Maisog was not
afraid and defied the
gods. Languit, the king of the sky, struck Maisog
with a lightning and srunned
him. 'J'hen he scattered the people over the earth as u p,rrirh*.it.
In this way
thc caltlr was pcoltled.
Maisog's body was brackened by the rightning and alr
his descendants are
black.
But Maisog's Iirst son was carried to the north and became
the parent of the

white people.

the sun was so hot that it

cltiklrcr-r were brought to the south where
color'
brown
were of
,l ,t,"i, lrotlics
't'',C* so that all their people where thev had
tu"i"c1to;he Last
;;;';:,
Yo
color'
of this diet' their descendants were of yellow

*lll otlrrr

iffi

**'

l"*rlty ul' lixrtl.

:i :]1,1'

Because
being'
ht tlrix wrry, the earth came into

The Creation of the Worlda

thd

expedition and began to attack the gates of the sky. Failing

to open the Eatql
Daga let loose the winds in ail directions so that the gate
*i,

fl

arayas, Jiguesinas,

gneines)

man's imagination can no longer reach

Al :l littrt: tnarly years ago-so long that
sea that nobody.knew where it
btr,k lltrtt: wos ,,o tuJd' All was immenseand the ages passed'
;;t,,;';i .,, *r,.r" it led to' Then the years
earth or-the wind o: tht
Nrrtutrly kncw where the sky or the
"t1Y-1Y:::l
Manaul.

Til::'ffi';u,"* *i.

This was King

*",a"a,r," destiny of space.
was no place where he could
w*x tirt.tl i.trd wanted to ,.,t. There
other'

rest. He

'ih+*lu,t tlrirt tht: earth ancl the sky should wage war against each
't'lr wirr wcnt on fbr a long time' Nobody knew how tolS lllasted' lhus'th1
when the king blew with all its fury' it raised
$l6tr rlraggctl by. It was knowithat
how far they reached above'
[og. ",'",]- irr.rd nobody knew
the ocean
'!'trt'rl, thtr king of the air, Manaul' clawed from the depths of
move (any
nor
raise
neither
could
people
so big that many
ElEtty ttt ks wl'rich were
cast them below He did this in
tfl llrrrrr, Itc lifted th"'" to"tk' in the air and he succeeded in separating the
the war' Finally'
Uitkrtut p[;tct:s to put an end to
(hc
winds'
fltws rlrrrl
of Iraya, one
'i,ltr. rrrt:ks he had thrown below formed the lands of the islands
Negros'
of
is now known as the island
rd wlru'lr lrt'ing that of Bugto, which
heat of the
'l'ltt,t'r wcre neither i"tt"-'ot plants and all got scorched in the
wanted a place where he could rest from
lutr, At tltit.t vcry moment, King Mana"l
It+e lr:rt ol' the sun'
up to this time took the name of the
lin lrc t:alled his general, Maguayan' who
Tile word spi rrywasnxdgzLtthat time' meaning "One
ft$r;lar lrlitrrt, :r spiny bamboo'
H

Mtrat I ligh"'
He was away for a long time' At length
Mirgrrilyan afterwards went far away'

ltetelrtt'ttrltlnrt",*u,yy"ars.F{eimmediatelythrewapieceofthespinybamboo

ttlrirlrl'ltllrtc<]onthewater.Thewindsblewandtheseascarriedittotheisland
Stories

of the Indios'

anrl
Manuscript of l57B: "The Ancient Legends
''l'1,,' l',,v.'rl.r,,,
Superstitions"' trans' by
and
Belicls
Their
Contui"
;hich
I;;;i;;t
,far,ry,rr, .f igtrtsinas, ^"d
Manuscript (1578)"
Povedano
thc
of
llrlfftrrr lr. lgnacio in'A-n Ant'otttecl tanslation1-3'
pp'
1951)'
MA thcsis, FBU, Manila'

iil,rt,,,t,ti*t,,ri

MYths

Philippine Folk Literature: An Anthology . Dwniana Eugmio

where it grew. The place was beautiful, so beautiful indeed, that

King Manaur felt
its charms. one day, while he sat arone under its (the spiny prant,s)iranches,
he
heard sqme voices which came from inside the bamboo: He
werrt near the bamboo
plant and opened it with his beak. From one of the nodules came forth

a man andi

from another a woman. King Manaur named the former sikalak,

and the latter,
Sikabay. And from these two came the other peopres from whom
sprang mankind.

Legend about the Creation of the World as

Told by the Mangians and the Negritoss
Long, long ago, the earth did not exist, and there was onry
formed by a huge ocean.

vast immense sea

once after the end of the rong and painful imprisonment of King Manaur
by
his opponent King Tubruck Lawi after a bloody war which
ttrey foulnt with the
result of the rout of King Manaul, and after Manaur had broken
the enormous
chain with which he was fastened, he went out flying into
space with the intention
of avenging himself on his most fierce and feared enemy, Tubruck Lawi.
Many years passed during which King Manaul wandered through
the aiq

flying hither and thither without finding any prace where he

could alight and rest
from his long and tiresome journey. He decrared himself
the enemy Jf th" .u.th
and of the sky. Infuriated at such boldness, they tried to punish
King Manaur. The

liquid element sent out waves which raised themselv.,

a.rg.r, lif,e tremendous
peaks, scattering foam and minute particles of water
into space. The sky, in turn,
called to its assistance canauay and Aminhan, the gods
*ho ,rl" the air, to send
out furious winds. The sky discharged a torrential rain. They
tried to punish

t)

the smaller birds' and

n1r1lr:titc, he began successively to devour and eat, first
nrtling with the largest ones.
his small fireflies,
I.[is other bird counselors, on the other hand, began to devour
rurtlil not the least sign
thir.t

of them appeared'

Angeredbysogrossaninsult,hecalledhisowls,whichbychancewerepassing
a villainy' so
place, and swore to them that they should be punished for such

them double-sized eyes,

Irr obliged them to stay awake during the night, and gave
beloved f,rreflies. From
his
ro t.hat in the future they might see better and not eat
we see owls with
tlrirt time , and the desires of King Manaul having been fulfilled,
punishment of King
tlrcir.big eyes that are wakeful during night, suffering still the
Miuraul.
devoured.
Linter the king of the air, many of whose counselors Manaul had
up terrible lightnings,
I lis wrath was boundless. He stamped his feet, and vomited
of the lliguecinas,
captan
King
from
aid
sought
He
rlrrrnderbolts, andwhirlwincls.
of Manaul. He
boldness
the
punish
to
order
in
sea,
the
or tl.rc genius of the men of
b,t this had
Manaul,
to
crush
stones
and
rocks
huge
(i.t,., Ciptan) sent from the sky
rro rcsult, for it was avoided by King Manaul'

Heretheearthfounditsbeginning,forthenManaul,findingaSupportln
tlrose big stones made them remain f,rxed forever.

They havingbecome his dwelling,

l(ingManaullivedhappilyforever.Thoselandshadtheirbeginningfromthattime
,r,,.1

world
or" still here today- Thanks to the rage of Captan against Manaul' the

lr:rd its beginning.

i,

him,
but King Manaul, light and agle, with his powerful wings, always
escaped and
mocked at the infuriated elements, withdrawing lightly from
discharges.

their colossal

Days and months went by, and then years. But no one yierded
a bit in his
boasting. At last both grew weary, and having resorved to
concrude their Iong and
quarrelsome rivalry, begged to know each other,s desires.

King Manaul begged that he be given light, and instantly there appeared
revolving about him an immense number of little lights produc"a
uy u multitude
of fireflies. Further, he desired counselors, and in a trice he had every kind
of bird
at his side.

Seeing some exceedingry fine chicks, he courd not restrain his

gluttony, and in
one bound ate up all that were there. Since there were no
other chicks to satiate his
5The

Tungkung Langit and Alunsina6

(Panay-VisaYan)

of
One of the stories about the creation of the world, which the old people
those living near the mountains, do not tire relating, tells that in

lrirnay, especially

thebeginningtherewasnoskyorearth-onlyabottomlessdeepandaworldof
the sky' the sea' and the
,r.,irt. d,r"rything was shapeless and formless-the earth,
confusion'
was
irir were almost mixed up. In a word, there
Then from the depth of this formless void, there appeared

the Olden Time and ol'Tbclay,,,pp. 3-4.

of l B3B_ l B3g D. "Stories ol'the Indios of

Tungkung

I,arrgitandAlunsina.Justwherethesetwodeitiescamefrom,itwasnotknown'
love with Alunsina;
I{o1ie.re., it was related that Tungkung Langit had fallen in

their abode in the

and aJter so many years of courtship, they got married and had
warm and the
highest realm of tlte ethereal space, where the water was constantly

and Dcvclopnrctrl
E Landa.|oca no, Outtine of Philippine M2thotngt (Manila: CEIJ Research
Ocnter, 1969), pp. 28-30'
6

Robert;on Zfumslrililtns of the pnon Manuscipts

tr,vo gods,

l0 / Philippine

Folk Literature: An Antholo gy , Domiana

Eugmio

Myths

breeze was forever cool. rt was in this prace

where order and regurarity first took
place.

Tungkung Langit was an industrious, loving

and kind god whose chief concern
was how to impose order over the whore
confured serui of things. He assumed
responsibility for the regurar cosmic movement.
on the other hani, Alunsina was
alazy, jealous, and selfish goddess whose only
work was to

st ufirr. window of
their heavenly home and amuse herself with
her pointless thoughts. sometimes,
she would go down the house, sit down
by a poor nea, their dooisteps, and comb
her long,jet-black hair all day long.
one day Tungkung Langit tord his wife that he wourd
be away from home
forsometime
to put an end to the chaotic disturbances in
the flow of time and
in the position of things. Irowever, despite this
purpose Alunsina sent the breeze
Tungkung Langit. This made th. iutte. very
ansry ufon knowing

:;jXL:"

Immediately after his return from his trip, he

called this act to her attention,
there being no other creature
laying that it was trngodry of her to be jearous,
livi,g in the world except the two of them. "This reproach
was resented byArunsina
and a quarrel between them followed.
Tirngkung Langit lost his temper. In his rage,
he divested his wife of powers
and clrove her away. He did ,ot k.ro* where

disappeared.

Alunsina went;

,h. -...ry

several days after Alunsina had left, Tungkung

Langit felt very lonery. He
realized what he had done' somehow, it was
too tul .rr"ri to b" ,or.y about the
whole matter' The whole place, once vibrant
with Arunsina,s sweetvoice, suddenry
became cold and desorate. In the morning
when he woke up, he would find himself
alone; and in the afternoon when he..-"
horrr., he would feel the same loneriness
creeping deep in his heart because there was
no one to meet him at the doorstep
or soothe the aching muscles of his arms.
For months, Tungkung Langit lived in utter
desolation. He could not f,rnd
Alunsina, try hard as he would. Ar.d ro, in desperation,
he decided to do something
in order to forget his sorrows. For months and
months rr" trrorg;i. His mind
seemed pointless; his heart weary and sick.
But he must do ,or.r"riirrg about his
lonely world.

one day, while he was sa,i,g across the regions of

the crouds, a thought
came to him, He would make trre sea and
the earth, and the sea and the earth
suddenly appeared. IIowever, the somber
sight of the lonely sea and the barren
land irritated him' so he came down to
urd pranted the ground with trees
"r.ti-,
and flowers' The n he took his wife's treasuredjewers
and scattered them in the sky
hoping that when Alunsina would see them
sh"e *igt,t t . t;;;;;.,rr.,
r,o-..
The goddess's necklace became the stars, her
comb the moon, and her crown the
sun. However, despite all these, Alunsina
dicl not come back.

II

Up to this time, the old folk say Tungkung Langit lives alone in his palace in the
nkics. Sometimes, he would cry out his pent-up emotion and his tears would fall
rkrwn upon the earth. The people in Panay today say that rain is Tungkung Langit's
tr.irrs. Incidentally, when it thunders hard, the old folk also say that it is Tungkung
l,rrugit sobbing, calling for his beloved Alunsina to come back-entreating her so
lritrcl that his voice reverberates across the fields and countrysides.

CosrnogonyT
(Bagobo)

In the beginning, Diwatas made the sea and the land, and planted trees of
rrrany kinds. Then he took two lumps of earths and shaped them like human
l]gures; then he spat on them, and they became man and woman. The old man
was called Tuglay and the old woman Tuglibung.'o The two were married and
lived together. Tuglay made a great house and planted seeds of different kinds that

l)iwata gave him.

Diwata made the sun, the moon, the stars, and the rivers. First he made the
afish that is like a snake in the river, and woundlr it all around the
world. Diwata then made the great crab (ka2umang), and put it near the great eel,
lnd let it go wherever it liked. Now, when the great crab bites the great eel, the eel
wriggles and this produces an earthquake'
When the rain falls, it is Diwata throwing out water from the sky. When Diwata
spits, the showers fall. The sun makes yellow clouds, and the yellow clouds make
the colors of the rainbow. But the white clouds are smoke from the fire of the

gr.cat eel (knsitfi,

gods.

16.

LauraWats.on Benedict, "Bagobo Myths,"J,4I,

XXVI, No.

99 (]anuary-March

l9I3),

15-

I Among the Bagobo the name "diwata" is used rather

as a collective than as a specific

tcrm, and relers to the gods in general or to any one of them. Pamuiak Manobo, creator of the
carth, is the diwata here rel'erred to.
0In Malayan-Arabic traditions Adam was moulded lrom a lump of clay mixed with water
(cl. w w. skeat, Malalt Magie, 1900, pp. 2 1-22); but the suggestion may as well have come lrom

a.]esuit story.

,,old pan" of Bagobo myth, and Tuglibung, the "old woman" were the Mona
r0
Tuglay, the
who lived on the earth before time began. tadition says that they were acquainted with only
the rudest of Bagobo arts and industries and that they were very Poor and dressed themselves in
the soft sheath torn from coconut trees. Tuglay and Tuglibung are not specific but general
names for all those people of the tales.
II
The Malays of the peninsula have a similar tradition as to the snake element (c1" Skeat, p.
6).

l2 / l)lrilippine Fblk Literature: An

Antholo gy . Dnniana Eugenio

Myllrs

The Story of the Creationr2

(Bilaan)

In the beginning, there werc four beings

S4elu, Fiuweigh, Diwata, and Saweigh),
and they lived on an isrand no larger than
a hat. on this island there were no trees
or grass or any other riving thing besides these
four people and one bircl (Buswit).
One day they sent this bird out across the waters
to see what he could find, and
when he returned he brought some earth, apiece
of rattan, and some fruit.
Melu, the greatest of the four, took the soil and
shapecl it and beat it with a
paddle in the same manner in which a
woman shapes pot, of clay, and when he
finished he had made the earth. Then he
prantecr the seeds from the fruit, anci
they grew until there was much rattan and
many trees bearing fruits.
The four beings watched the gror,r,th for a rong
time

orrJ*... we, pleased

with the work, but finally Melu said:

"of

what usr: is rr'ris earth a,d alr the rattan and fruit
if there are no peopre?,,
Ancl thc othcrs rt:plicd, ,,Let us make some
people out of wax.,,
s. tl'rcy took somc wax and worked rong, fashioning it i,to
forms, but when
llrt'y lrRrrr.ght tl-rcm to the fire the wa-x melted]and
they saw that men could not be
nr;xlc irr tha.t way.
N.xt they decided to try to use dirt in making people,
and Meru and one of
Iris t'rnrPanions beean working on that.
AIr went wel till they were ready to make
llrt: r.srs' The companion, who was working
on that part, put them on upsicre
tlow,' Melu told him that the people would cliown
if he reft them that way, but he
rclirsed to change them.
When his back was turned, however, Melu seized
the noses, o,e by one, and
turned them as they now are. But he was in such
a hurry that he pressed his finger
at the root, and it left a mark in the soft cray
which you can stil see on the thces of
the people.

l:l

'l'his world is divided into seven layers. The earth has aiso seven layers. Each
l.r1,r'f i. inhabited by a different kind of being. The uppermost laye r, for example, is
rlrr' lrlace we are inhabiting. The second layer is being inhabitedl by dwarls. These
Karibanga.The
,lrvirr[]sareshort,plump,andlong-haired.Theyarelocallyknol&'nas
l,,rtiltanga are said to possess magical powers. They are uspally invisible to the
lrrrrnzrn eye. The third layer of the earth which is lound under the sea or lake is
rrrlrabited by nymphs. These nymphs also possess certain magical powers. It is
:,trrlccl in the story of Rqah Indarapatra that he met and fell in love with the
1,r'incess-nymph with whom he had a child.
'lhe sky also consists of seven layers. Each layer has a door which is guarded
,l;ry and night by huge mythical birds calledgaroda.The seventh layer of the sky is
tlrt' seat of heaven which is also divided into seven layers. Every layer in the sky is
urlrtbited by angels. Maranaws believe that angels do not need food. They all
wings with r,r,hich they fly.
Heaven which is found on the seventh iayer of the sky is whele good people 's
r;pilits go after death. Saints are assigned 10 the seventh layer while persons who
"lrrr.r'cly made it" are confined to the lower most layer rvhich is found at the bottom
l)()ssess

,,l

hcaven,

It is in heaven where we find the tree-ofJife. On each leaf of the tree-of-life is

rvlitten the name of every ilerson living on earth. As soon as a leaf ripens or dries
rrncl lalls, the person whose name it carries also dies.
The soul of every person is found in tightly covered jars kept in one section
ol hcaven. This particular section of heaven is closely guarded by a monster with
;r thousand eyes, named Walo. Walo, in addition to his thousand eyes, has also eight
lr;tiry heads. The .epic Daransan speaks of Madale, Bantugau's brother and,
l\'labaning, husband of Lawanen, entering this section and retrieving the soul of
Il;rtrtugan.

fhe Creation of the Earthll

Iirural')

The Origin of This Worldr3

(Maranao)
Ar:corcli,g to Maranaw folkrore, this worrcr was
created by a great Being. It is
,r>1 k..w., however, who exactly is this
great Being. or how ma,y days it took
IJirrr lo t:r'catt: this workl.

r2[,]:rlrt.l
UO.

(,rrlt.rlr.,

t,hitip,i.ne

Countless ages ago, there was no land throughout the world. There we re only
tlrc sky and the sea.
L-r those days of long, Iong ago, there already lived in heaven a superhuman
lrcing whom the Tirurays know as Sualla (or Tullus-God). Sualla had a sister who
livccl in Bonggo, the kingdom of the dead. Both Sualla and his sister were very
lrorvcrful, and were able to change any object to other forms.

RtLkTifus(Chicago:A.C.McClurgandCo., l9l6),pp.
l3g_

Al'rtltrll:rlr 'll N4:rtlirk', .'l lTttlintitt,t2 shufu r1i[

Mnranao Fol* Litntrture(Marawi
ol- Rcscarch lirr lrilipirro ( lrrlrrrrr., N,{SLI,
l966;
rri

pp. 4_5.

city:

I{ Datu Gumbay Piang, "Moro and Pag:rn Lcgcnds of'l\4indanao," PM,27, no.

Instit.ute
l1)3

l),

734.

l2

(N4rry

l,l.

l'lrilippirre lblk Literature: An Anthology . Damian.a Eugmio

one day sualla went ro the palace of the rising sun to visit eighr
I(hnenentaos (statue) which stood against t-he walls of
h.u.r..r. The eight
I(hnenentaos were made from the piih of a very hard
wood, and had been
there since the beginning of time. when he arrived,
Suaila touched one of the

central figures. The Khnenentao he touched was given rife,

and thus the first

man was crealed.

sualla left the man he created. But the first man was arways
sad. oftentimes he
would visit his creator and ask what he could do.
when sualla found that the man he had created was always sad
ancr lonely,
he took one of the man's ribs and made a woman out
of it. Suaila married the
man and the woman.
Not long afterwards a very good looking son was born. But alas,
the boy
would never stop crying. His crying was so loud that it was
heard throughout the
universe. He became sick, and the parents were much
worried. The woman sent
her husband to Sualla to ask for medicine for their sick
child.
when Sualla heard that his omat (man-creation) was in distress,
he was sorry
ancl said that he would never again directry increase
his human creations. He
gavc the nccessary medicine for the
sick bov.
llelbre sending the man away, however, Sualla said, ,,you
will meet a. man on
y()t. wr1y' Do not let him see or take hord of the medicine I have
given you.,,
on his way, the omat met the king of the demons who hal b.en sent by
Sinonggol, the sister of Sualla.
"What do you have in your hancl there?,, the king of the demons
asked.
The omat did not answer, so the king of the demons grabbecl
the medicine
:rnd cleftly changed it. As soon as Suaila's creation hati
back what he thought was
his medicine, he hurried on.
when he arrived home, the omat gave the medicine to his boy.
The boy cried
immediarely.

The wife agai, sent her husband to their creator, this time
to ask for a burial
place for their dead son.
"What did you do to the medicine I gave you?,, Sualia asked.
"'I'hc king of the demoas took it arvay from me,,, repiied the man.
"My sister has been envious of my works again," mutt..ed
sualla, and he fert

rio*y"'l'hc. hc cailed for his four

'l'lr.i. r;rr,r:s wc.e Mentair,

brothers from the four corners of the world.

Micaer, Mintlafis, and osman Ari. when his brothers
;r,ivr'tl Ir. .rrkrr.d them to buy soil from Navi (prophet) Mohammad
(Mohammad)
so tlr:rt Vlr.rrl;rlirlirn, tl-re boy who was dearl, might
be burried.

'l'lr. lirrr. lrrrrllrc's of

Sualra proceedecl to Navi Mohammad,s prace, which

wirs :rrrtl is, :rls., ilr lrt,irvr:n. lVhen they arrived, and
were asked their mission, they
.r:1-,lit:rl tlr:r I tlr.y lr:rr I lr.r'rr sr:,1 by Sualla to
buy some soil. They were immediately

given lir:cly wlr:rt tlrty:rskt,tl (irr.

MYtlrs

l5.r

wrrs er fine n-rorning when they re ached the place of Sualla. After deciding
the soil.
11,,. lor.;rtior-r, Suallawent to Colina, the center of the world, and planted
the soil,
planting
After
world.
the
I lril soiI has now grown ancl spread throughout

lt

NI

rr

tirlrlan was buried.

l,'rrrm clifferent parts

of the body of Mentaialan various food crops grerv' The

grewfrom the teeth of Mentalalan. From the navel the first rice sprouted.
llrr. llu.rds grew as the first banana trees. God is really a loving and wonderful

Irr:;t conr
li c ir rg.

Sinonggol, was so jealous of her brother's work that she threw

,l( )wrr he r comb, which became the first pig-to eat and destroy the first bananas
.rrrrl otlrer crops. She also spit out her btgto and threw it away. The buyo became
rlrr.{jr.st rats, and thus to this day the rats eat and destroy our rice and corn.
It is sai,l that had it not been for the jealousy of Sualla's sister we should all be
lrvitrg'. now as immortals. We should never be hungry because the crops would not
,lir.irway. The bananas, the rice, the corn-all things that Sualla made lbr usSr,ra.lla's sister,

*,,'r'r: changed or modified by Sinonggol.

lJut we must also take into consideration that Sinonggoi did all these things
l,r'r';rlse she loves us. Persons, beasts, insects, plants, and a1l other things have to
,lrr'. lrecause she wants them in her abode at Bonggo, the kingdom of the dead'

The Peopling of the Worldr5

(Yliguepes)
The people of the coast, who are cailed the Yligueynes, believe that heaven
carth had no beginning, and that there were two gods, one called Captan and
llrr: other Maguayen. They believe that the land breeze and the sea breeze lvere
rrrirr-ried; and that the land breeze brought forth a reed, which was planted by the
r,,rcl Captan. When the reed grew, it broke into two sections, rthich became a man
;urcl a woman. To the man they gave the name Sicalac, and that is the re ason why
,rx:rr from that time on have been called lalake;the womal-I they called Sicavay
(Sikanay), and thenceforth r,vomen have been called babEtes. One day the man
;rslicd the woman to marry him, for there were no other people in the world; but
slrr: refused, saying that they were brother and sistet born of the same reed, with
only one knot between them and that she would not marry him, since he was her

;rrrrl

lrr.other. Finaily they agreed to ask advice from the tunnies of the sea, and from
said that it was necessary
I lr c doves of the air; they. also went to the earthquake, who

Iirr them to marr)., so that the world might be peopled. They married, and r:alled

r:,

Miguel clc Loarca, "Reltrcion dc

lzrs Islas

Filipinas, " in B anl R,

121-25.

Tillc

sr

rPPlit tl

l(i ,z l'lrilippirre l.olk Literature: An Anthology

. Damiana Eugenio

MYlhs

their first son Sibo; then a daughter was born to them, and they gave her the name
Samar. This brother and sister also had a daughter called Lupluban. She married
Pandaguan, a son of the first paiq and had a son called Anoranor. Pandaguan was
the first to invent a net for frshing at sea; and the first time he used it, he caueht a
shark and brought it on shore, thinking that it would not die. Bur the shark died
when brought ashore; and Pandaguan, when he sarv this, began to mourn and
weep over it-complaining against the gods for having allowed the shark to die,
when no one had died before that time. It is said that the god Captan, on hearing
this, sent the flies to ascertain who the dead one was; but as the flies did not dare to
go, Captan sent the weevil, who brought back the news of the shark's death. The
god Captan was displeased at these obsequies to a fish. He and Maguayen made a
thunderbolt, with which they killed Pandaguan; he remained thirty days in the
infernal regions, at the end of which time the gods took pity upon him, brought
him back to life, and returned him to the world. While Pandaguan was dead, his
wife Lupluban became the concubine of a man called Maracovrun; and these
people say that at that time concubinage began in the world. When Pandaguan
returned, he did not find his wife at home because she had been invited by her
friend to feast upon a pig that had been stolen; and the natives say that this was the
first theft committed in the rvorld. Pandaguan sent his son for Lupluban, but she
refused to go home, saying that the dead do rlot return to the world. At this answer
Par-rdaguan became angry and returned to the infernal regions. The people believe
that if his wife had obeyed his summons, and he had not gone back at that time, all
the dead would return to life.

'l'lrc

'/ l7

reported to God this complaint of the satans. Then God, through

tlrr. lnscls, gave his parman also to the satans. So the satans and the angels together
rr,r'rrt to l'etch the earth needed for making man.
when the soil had been obtained, it was mixed together. But Adam had no
rrrrvcment. Besides, he began to crack up because of the sun's heat.
God ordered the angels to pour water on him. But a new problem arose:
r\rl:rm.r,r,ould not get clry. So God gave another order to apply air to him. But the
them to
lrr.oltlem remained: Adam would not move. This time, God commanded
water, air,
earth,
himself
had
within
he
now
him
better:
made
This
Adam.
{ire
in
1,rrt
zrngels

,rrrrlfire.

still, another difficulty came up: whenever Adam sneezed, his neck would be
prrllecl off. God gave a revelation to the angels to the effect that Adam should say
n,lrcn sneezing: "Praise be to God." Besides, whenever Adam ya'r'rned, his chin
rvorrld drop and remain fallen on his chest. To prevent this, another parman was
lrvt:n enjoining him to say this ejaculation whenever he yawned: "God send the
';,rlirns away
,

liom me." All these problems solved,

the partubuhan

of Adam

was

ornplete.

But Adam was alone. God put him to sleep and in his sleep, he dreamt that a
ulr ol his was pulled out of his sicle and placed on his arms. Ile woke uP and
li,rrncl the beautiful Eve pillowed on his arms. From then on the world began to be
1,,

opled.

'fheir first offsprings were a white boy and a white girl. Next they

gave birth to

boy and a black girl. Then the white chitdren married each other, and the
did likewise. After their marriage, the children left to find their own home.
'llrcy bypassed the silver and gold mountains and remained on the iron. The
, lrildr-en of the whites and the children of the blacks also married their owr color.
,r trlack
lrlrrcks

The Story of Adarn and Ever6

(Tausug)

God, when about to create man, said to the angels; We should create Adam
from a solidified earth. This was a revelation to the angels. And he askecl them to
fetch soil from the four corners of the earth.
But the angels were unable to obtain the soil because they were seduced by
the satans or deviis.
The reason for the seduction was that the satans were jealous of the angels.
God had not revealed to them as he did to the angels the kind of substance to use
in creatirrg man. They promised, however, to help the angels obtain the soil frorn
thc lbrrr corners of the earth if they were also gven the parmdn (or revelation).

't'lrus the white and black races began'

In the Paradise or Surgah, a man came to Eve and offered her a frtrit to eat.
I,);rting the fruit had been advised against by God and by Adam. Probably Eve did
nol eat the fruit. That was why Eve was tempted again but in another form.
A little child, newly born, was crying; and Eve he aring the poor thing ordered
tlrc nng6l5 to bring the child to her. The baby spoke and said that it was crying
lrct:ause Adam and Eve would be sent out of Paradise because they would not eat
ol the fruit of the tree. It stopped crying only after Eve did actually partake of the
ll.rrit. Afterwards, Eve induced Adam to eat of the frr.rit despite his repeated refusals.
Sirrcc then both she and Adam began to urinate and defecate in Paradise' Thus
llr r:y rvere sent out of it. Until now they can't be found. It was Eve's na1su or greed
rvlrir:h sent them out of paradise.

l(i linrrrr:isco I{. l)trrrtlrio,

SJ. "Themes in Philippinc Rrlk Talcs,"
(April 1972), ll-12.

A.tirm Studie.r,

X, no.

tt

,z

The Ifugao Flood-MythtT

I
Ifugao knowledge of the pred,uvian perio. is very vague. It is
known, however, that the Earth world was entirely flat except for
two great
mountains, one in the east called Amuyao and one in the west called
Kalauitan.
This level country was heavily forested, and alr of the people rive
along a large
river that ran through the central plain between the two great
mountains.
The period was something like a Golden Age, when ihirg, *...
much better
than they are now. The peopre were demigods whose life wis a happy
one and
their country a sorr of Garden of Eden. To obtain rice, all that they
needed to do
was to cut down a sralk of bamboo, which was plentiful,
and split open the joints
which were fillcd with hulled rice ready to cook. Stalks of ,rg...u,r.
were filled
wirh hriryax,tttzrrd nr:edcd only to be tapped to furnish a most reireshing
drink. The
rive. wzrs {irll of lish, and the forests were filled with deer and wildlogs
which
wr:rc rnuch easier to catch than those of the present day.
The rice grains at that
tir,c wcrc larger and more satisfying, and a handful of them *u. ,r$r.i"rrt
to f-eed
77rc Golden Age'

a la.rgc

fhmily.

But this Golden Age, like others, was not destined to last.

II
Tlrc Flood, and the oigln 0f the Mountains. one year when the
rainy season
should have come, it did not. Month after month passed and
no rain fell. The river
grew smaller and smaller day by day until at last it disappeared
entirely. The people
began to die and at last the old men said: "If we do not get water
soon, we shall all
die. Let us dig down into the grave of the river, for the river
is dead and has sunk
into his grave, and perhaps we may find the soul of the river ancl it
will save us
from dying'" So they began to dig, and they dug for three days.
on the third day the
holc was very large, and suddenly they struck a great spring and
the water gushed
lbrth. It came so fast that some of them were drowned before
they courd get out

of thr. pit.

'l'lrr,

r.rr.lr lirrrl

l7

MYths

Philippine Folk Uterature: An Antholo gy . Damiana Eugmio

[l'rc pcople were happy

^ntl

for there was plenty of water; and they brought

made a great feast. But while they were feasting, it grew
dark and

II. ( )rl.y Ir.y.r', "()r'igin

Myths among Mountain pc.ples of the philippi,es,,, philippine

Jotourl ol -virzr;., Vlll, :lA (APrir, 1gr3), l il-13. co[ected by Beyer from varicrus Ilirgaos of
B:rnauol t:llrr irr l1)(Xi.
rrJ 'Ilrc
Ilir{;ro rilc rlrirrL, rrsrr;rlly known as bubud.

l!)

r:rin.'I'he river also kept rising until at last it overflowed its bank' Then
rlr, l,iol)l(. lrt.t:zrrrrelrightenedandtriedtostopupthespringintheriverbutcould
1,,t ,l,r ri().'l'|c1 the old men said: "We must flee to the mountains, for the river

l,r r,.rrr to

r.,,,

1.,

.rrr.rrrre.r'y and we shall all be

drownecl." So the people fled toward the mountains

,ri,l ,rll lrrrt two of them were overtaken by the water and droumed. The two of
ll,,

,r r

rvlr, cscaped were

brother and sister named Wigan and Bugan-Wigan on

Nlr ,\rrrrryitoandBuganonMt.Kalauitan.Andthewatercontinuedtoriser'rntilall
I,l,il tlr World rvas covered excePt only the peaks of these two mountains.
'lrt' rva.ter remaine d on earth for a whole season or from rice planting to rice
|
li,,rvr.:it.r1r l)uring that time Wigan and Bugan lived on fruits and nuts from the
at night
l, ,r r.:,tri lha.t covered the tops of the two mountains. Bugan had fire which

rlr,

lrlrlr tlrr' qrcak

of Mt. I(alauitan, and Wigan knew that there was someone else alive

himself. He had no fire, and suffered much from the cold'

r\r l:ut the water receded from the earth and left it covered with the rugged
rrr,,rrrrlirins and deep valleys that exist today; and the solitary brother and sister,
the sight.
1,,, ,[irrs dor,r,n from their respective peaks, were filied with wonder at

1,,

,r,

L'r;

III
Earth-world. As soon as the earth was dry, wigan
Bugan, and their reunion was
l,,rrr.rrt.yed to Mt. Kalauitan where he found his sister
l r, )s( ioyous. They descended the mountain and wandere d about until they came
clan. Here
r, , I rr: l;eautiful valley that is today the dwelling place of the Banauol
upper part
in
the
dwelt
Bugan
finished,
house
was
the
When
a
house.
\Vis;rn built
I lttt Ref,opulation

of

the

Wigan slept beneath.

if there
I Iaving provided for the comfort of his sister, Wigan starte d to find
day
and
all
about
traveled
He
Earth
World.
the
in
alive
\v(.r.c no other people left
he
was
As
days.
three
for
this
did
He
sleep.
to
l,lrrr-ned to the house at night
no
other
were
there
that
himself
to
he
said
,,,rning back on the third evening,
world was to be repopul:rted it must be through
;,r.o1rlc but themselves; and if the
llr.rn ... At iast Bugan realizecl that she was Pregna.rlt. She burst into violent
r'r,t.t^lting, and heaping reproaches on his head, ran blindly zrwiry toward the East,
lollowing the course of the river. After traveling a long w;ry, ancl being overcome
rvith grief and fatigue, Bugan sank down on thc bank of the river and lay there
rr.,.rrrl:ling and sobbing.20 After having quiett:cl l-rclscl['somewhat, she arose and

.rr

rrl

ri,About six months. Thc duration olthe lkrocl varics greatly in the dillcrent versions of
tlris nryth.
2,,hrccst is lookecl upon by thc Ifugaos
, r'irncs.

with horror, and is held to be one of the gravest ol

MYths
20

Philippine Folk Literature: An Anthology ' Damiana

2l

Eugenio

("day"
()n(: Iluwan stole. Thereafter the bigger jewel was called Araw
looked around her and to her surprise saw an old man with a long white beard
sitting on a rock near her! He approached her and said: "Do not be afraid! I am
Maknongan and I am aware of your trouble. I have come to teil you that it is ail
right!" While he was speaking, Wigan, who had followed his sister, appeared on the
scene. Then l\4aknongan piaced the sanction and blessing of the gods upon their
marriage, assuring them that they had done right, and that through them the world
must be repeopled. He told them to return to their house, and whenever they were
in trouble to offer sacrifices to the gods. After Bugan had become convinced in
this manner, they left Maknongan and returned home.
In the course of time nine children were born to Wigan and Bugan, five sons
and four daughters, and from them are descended all of the people of the Earth
World. The youngest son, who was named Igon, had no wife.2r

Why the Sun Shines More Brightly than the Moon22

(Tagalog)

Long, long ago there lived a fairy with two very beautiful daughters. Araw, the
cldcr daughter, was very amiable and had a kindly disposition; but Buwan, unlike
hcr sister, was disobedient, cruel, and harsh. She was always finding fault with
Arerw. One night, when the fairy came home from her nocturnal rambles and saw
Buwan badly mistreating her elder sisteq she asked God for help against her unruly
daughter.

Before this time God had prepared very valuable gifts for the two sisters.
These gifts were two enormous diamonds that could light the whole universe.
When God heard the prayer of the fairy, he descended to earth disguised as a
beggar. On learning for himself how bad tempered Buwan was, and how sWeet
and kind-hearted Araw was, God gave the older sister her diamond as a reward.
Buwan was greatly angered by this favoritism on the part of the Almighty so she
went to the heavenly kingdom and stole one of God's diamonds. Then she returned
to ezrrth with the precious stone, but there she found that her jewel was not so
lrrilli:rrrt as Araw's.
Whcn God went back to Fleaven and learned what Buwan had done, he sent
two arrqr:ls to 1>unish her, But the angels abused their commission: they seized both
sisLr:rs irnrl hrrrlcd them into the sea. Then they threw the two stones upward into
tht.: sl<y, ;rrrt I tlrcr<r thcy stuck. But Araw's diamond was bigger and brighter than the

2r

'I'lrt'nrrrnlrt'r'irnrl rr:rrncs of thc children ofWigan and Br"rgan vary in the clillcrent Ilugao

clans.
22
Dt,i,, S. l,irnslcr', t,'il'iltitto ll4ntLtr %les (Hatboro, Pcnnsylvania: Folklorc Associates, Inc.
1965), No. 70, 1rgr. '10'l-05. N:rrr:rlt:cl by Francisco M. Africa.

or "sun")'

,,rrrl the smaller one, Buwan ("moon")'

The Sun and the Moon23

(PamPango)

Longagotheearth\MascreatedandruledbyBathala'Hehadtwochildren'
earth received its
nlrotuqri arid Mayari' From the eyes of these two children' the
and even
mountain,
the
of
animals
the
air,
i,lri ri*ir, The people, the birds of the

rlrefishesofthesea,weregladbecausetheyhadlight,andsotheyweregreat
h icnds of the two children.

them to be separated
Bathala loved his children tenderly, and never wanted
them in their daily
followed
liom him, so no matter how tired he was, he always

w:rlks.Butastimewenton,andBathalabecameoldandfeebleandcouldno
with him
with his active son and daughter' he asked them to stay

longer keep up
that they paid no heed to
:rt all times; but they were so absorbed in their pleasures
suddenly without leaving
rheir father,s wish. one day he became sick and died
Now Apolaqui wanted to
;ury written will as to the disposition of his kingdom'
power to his sister Mayari. she refused to consent
r uie the earth without giving any

toherbrother'splan,andabitterconflictarosebetweenthem'Foralongtime
one of her eyes put out' When
they fought with tamboo clubs. At last Mayari had

sorry for her and said

Apolaqrii saw what he had done to his sister, he felt very

thattheyshouldstrugglenolongerbutthattheyshouldexerciseequalpoweron

carth,onlyatdifferen*ttimes'sincethattime,Apolaqui'whoisnowcalledthe
Sun,hasruledtheearthduringtheday,andfromhiseyeswereceivebrightlight.
however' is
who is called the *oo', rules the world at night' Her light'
Mayari,

lirinter than her brother's, for she has but one eye'

The Sun, the Moon, and the Starsza

(Pangasinan)

TherewasonceapowerfulgodcalledAma(..father,,),thefatherandrulerof

aerial abode, from which he

Irll others, and the creator of ma.t. H" t ud a wonderl'ul
"day") and Bulan ("moon")
<:ould see everything. Of all his sons, Agueo ("sun"'
palace' In accordance with
wcre his two favorites, and to these he gave each a fiery

'?3

Ibid., d P. a06.

'n F.rrsier,
,,1 San

Fililri*

Pnputor Talzr;

Carlos, Pangasinen.

"Notes" no' 70, pp' 405-06' Narrated by Emilio

Bulatztrr

22 ,/ Plrilippine Folk Literature: An Antholo gy . Damiana

Eugenio

MYths

the wish of their fatheq Agueo and Bulan daily passed across the earth
siclcr by sir1r,
and together they furnished light to mankincl. Now, Agueo was of a morosc
a.ntr
taciturn disposition, but he was arways very obedient to his father; Bulan,
on th.
other hand, was merry and full of mischief.
once, when they were near the end of their day's labor, they saw thieves
orr
the earth below, wishing that it were night so that they might proceed
with their
unlart{ul business. Bulan, who was one of their kind, urged Agueo to be quick
so
that the earth might soon be left in darkness. As Agueo obstinately refused
to be
hurried, a quarrel ensued between the two brothers. Their father, who had
been
watching the two boys and had heard alr that passed between them, became
very
angry with the mischievous Bulan, and, in his wrath, he seized an enormous
rock
and hurled it whistling through the air. The rock struck the palace of Bulan
and
was broken into thousands of pieces, which got perpetual light from
contact with
the fiery palace. These may stirr be seen in the heavens, and they are calred
Bituen
("stars"). Bulan was forbidden to travel with Agueo but was commanded
to light
the ways of thieves henceforth with his much_dimmed fiery palace.

23

llr..N4rl<lrrrcturneddulyanclafterdepositingherburdeninthehouseturned

1*, r,

forms. she broke

lrr r ,. rlrr. r:hildren slept but found only their dried inanimate

husband'
lr>ttcl',rail, and in the wildness of her grief called upon her
to
returned
he
plaints'
long
loud
the
by
lirrt lrr' 1,,:rvt: ilo answer. Finally softened
rebuke
and
despair
and
grief
of
cries
lri. L,,ru;('. At the sight of him the wild
to soothe the wife' became
r, ,l, ,rrl ,lrt I tlremselves until hnally the husband, unable
and quieted her sobs'
anger
his
she feared
r, ,1.r 1 .r rtt I r:alled her his chattel' At first
burnt forms of her
the
seized
l,rrr. lrrr:rlly breaking out into one long wail, she
to the ground in
them
threw
l, ,1,, ,,, ,,rrcl in the depth of her anguish and her rage
seizing some
and
again'
,lrllr r.rrl tlirections. Then the husband became angry
her face and
in
them
r,rr,, lr.;rrr(:s that his wif'e had brought from the fields, cast
is to this day
it
,ir r,t lris way. Upon his return he could not find his wife' and so
day. And so it is,
rlr.rr tlrr.sun follows the Moon in an eternal cycle of night and

,,ilr rrt,,

rr

for they, too, accomPany

r,,,,, tlr;rt stars stand scattered in the sable f,rrmament,
across her path' but
breaks
star
a
shooting
anon
and
Irr r ilr lr(:r hasty flight. Ever
however, heeds it
She,
back.
her
to
call
husband
her
rlr.rr rs only a messenger from
rr,rl

llrt

speeds

on her way in never-ending flight with the marks of the taro

her to the dawn and

l, .r'r':;:rrr stiil upon her face and her starry train accompanying

The Origin of the Stars and the

Explanation of Sunset and Sunrise25

,,n to the sunset in one eternal flight'

(Manobo)

It is said that in the olden time the Sun ancl the Moon were married.
They led
a peaceful, harmonious life. Their marriage produced two children.
one day the
Moon had to attend to one of the household duties that fall to the lot of a woman,
some say to get water, others say to get the daily suppry of food from
the fierds.
Before departing, she crooned the children to sleep and tord her husbancl to
watch
them but not to approach lest by the heat that racliatecl from his body he
might
harm them. She then started upon her errand. The Sun, who never before
had

been allowed to touch his bairns, arose and approached their sleeping prace.
He
gazed upon them fondly, and, bending dou,r-r, kissed them, but the inten"se
heat that
issued from his countenance melted them like wax. Upon perceiving
this, he wept
ancl tlr-rietly betook himself to the adjoining forest in great fear of his
wife.

The Sun and the Moon27

(Mandaya, Mindanao)

,l'he Sun and the Moon were married, but the Sun was very ugly and
started to chase her'
rlu:lr'rclsotrre. One day he became angry at the Moon and
Slrcranveryfastuntilshewassomedistanceaheadofhim;whenshegrewtired'

her, at times almost reaching

llr. ltlmost caught her. Ever since he has been chasing
lrcr, and again falling far behind'
he was like a man'
The lirst child of the Sun and the Moon was a large star, and
small pieces and
into
up
him
cut
star,
the
( )rrc time the Sun, becoming angry at
and ever since
rice'
scatters
just
woman
as a
:;r:rrttered him over the whole sky
llrr:re have been many stars'

AnotherchildofthesunandMoonwasagiganticcrab.(Thecrabwascalled
,lirrnbanokano.)Hestilllivesandissopow.erfulthateverytimeheopensand
in a large

25

II. (). lI

yt rl

"origin

I\4yths," p. 9I. From the unpublishecl notcs of'John M. Garvan.

conccrrirrs tlris rrrytlr, Bcycr makes lhis observation: "The sunr moon, aicl stars
are great
deitics, or tlrc rlwt'llirrg;rlact ol'such deilies, in nearly all Philippine rcligions.,,For
a survcy ol.

allPhilippirrcrrryllrstxPlaitri.gthcorieinof thcstars, r.e:Towir"l.roSuiorl,oJ

unl Mythoklg (Att.rrr.,r rlc M;rrrila Universiry prcss, i968), pp. 47-50.

of the time the crab lives

t.loses his eyes there is a flash of lightning. Most
high tide; but
lrole in the bottom of the sea, andwhen he is there we have

ph.ilij4tineFotklore

bamboos, others, that they art.

Some say that the spots upon the moon are a cluster of
baletc tree.
27 Mabel Cook Cole (comp.) Philippine Folk Taks, pp 145-46'
26

:r

when he

24

IvIYths'125

Philippine Folk Literature: An Antholo gy. Damiana Eugmio

Ieaves the hole, the waters rush

in and there is row tide. His moving about

arso

causes great waves on the surface of the sea.

The crab is quarrersome like his father; and he sometimes
becomes so angry

with his mother, the Moon, that he tries to swalow her.2'

when the feople on
earth, who

are fond of the Moon, see the crab near her, they
run out of doors and
shout and beat on gongs until he is frighten ed, away,and
thus the Moon
is saved.

The Story of Bugan and Kinggaman:

Or the Mamiage of a Goddess with a Man2s

(Ifugao)

H' otley

Beyer considers.this Kiangan Ifugao myth .,one

of the best specimens

of Ifugao literature." He berieves that it protabry originated

as a sir.rple o.igin
myth but that in the course of time it was eraborated
and developed untir now, he
thinks, "it is worthy of its rittle niche in the worrd,s literature.,,

The wife of the god Hinumbian is Dakaue. she has no

chi.rdren excepr a
daughter called Bugan' This Bugan was with her parenrs
in Luktag.
Let it

be

that these divinities of the highest region of the Sky

worrdio not see
'oted that
directly
which takes,place in the lowe*ph...r, but the first
cars the second,
ancl thc second the third, etc. According to ihi, order,
the first or principal god
known as Bungongol, charges or gives trde.s to his son
Ampual, who in turn
orders his son Balittion, and the latter orders and charges
Lidium of the Iowest
sky region, or Kabunian. This Liddum is the one
that communicates directly with
the Ifugaos. The said Bugan, daughter of Hinumbian,
was at that time a maiden,

while in Luktag, and her uncle Baiyuhibi3o tord her to go

down and amuse herself
in the third region, Hubulan. So, according to the
wishes of her reratives, she went
?8

An eclipse of the Moon. This belief in a monster swallowing

the moon and the wild
ellbrrs to lrighten

it away are very widespreacr. It is found among the Batak palawan

of
and in
othcr parts ol-Malaysia as well as the South sea, Mongol,
cii...e,
Siamese, and Hindoo
mylh.logy' Evcn in Peru we fincl the belief that an evil spirit
in the form of a beast was eating
thc moon, ancl that in order to scare it, the people shouted
and yeiled and beat their dogs

makc tlrcnr
20

errlcl

H ot':y

to
to rhc noise. seef(arr s<rn,Townaio1 R kgious pychorag.November,
19r4, p. r64.
Bcycr, "origin Myths ariong thJ Mountain peopres
philippines,,,

of the

pp.

collcctcd byJ,an Rrnandez MilaJerde in rBg4, frorna

cerebrated Itigao priest,
105-10
Dumiong ol'Kizrngnn. Transrated, corrected, and annotated
by H. otley Beyer *itt th. u,.irtu.r..

ofJohn M. Garvan.
E Barlon givcs a synopsis of this myth in "Kinggaowan:
The Divided child,,,
, - 5:
Mlthologlt
oJ'the lJiryun;

30

God of the rzrin.

p, 143.

was. The said

rl01.rr to l-Iubulan where Dologdogan, the brother of Balittion,
first Bugan'
The
Bugan'
another
marry
to
I)ulogtkrg;rn hacl gone to Hubulan
did not wish
she
but
in
Luktag'
to
marry
,lr,rgi,t,t,. otHinumbian, had been advised

Having
,,,, and so they told her to go off and divert herself in Hubulan'
but
there,
married
get
to
advisedher
rrulcrl clown in this sky region, her uncles
1,, ,1,,

this question, Dologdogan

rrr,itlrrrr clid she wish this. ir-, view of her attitude on
abode in the house of
her
take
go
rxllotlr:cl her to descend to Kabunian, and
Liddum wished her to
said
The
l,irlthrrrr her relative and the son of Amgalingan.
house, or town, of
the
Near
rrulrr.y in I(abunian, but she also refused to do this.
Habiatan, and the
called
l,irttlrrrn (whose wife is called Lingan) there was a village
said Habiatan
lilrrl o[ the village also bore this name. such being the case, the
the condition
in
wlnt to the house of Liddum, and, upon seeing the young Bugan
not marry?" The former
ol' rrririclenhood, he asked Liddum: "why does this maid
,,we
have counseled her to it, but she does not wish to do so' I,
ilInwrrrcd him:
said to
she did not wish to get married, nor to follow my advice
rrPorr sceing

that

replied: "Then, if
better, for thee to return to
llrorr tlost not wish to get married in Kabunian, it were
answered:
"That is not necessary'
she
but
in
Luktag,
tlry pr:ople and to thy family
care to get married
take
I
shall
house-and
irrrrl I should like to stay with thee in thy
I shall tell thee'"
then
and
liking,
my
of
irt rrry pleasure, when I see or meet someone
to this, I shall
him:
to
'According
hearing this story of Liddum, said

1,,.r:

..why dost thou not get married?" she began to laugh.

I lrrbiiLtan

after

lirktltheyoungBugantomyrancheiaandhouseinHabiatantoseeifshewishedto
Bugan so desires' it goes
ilr:rrry my ,on Bugilrt."slTo which Liddum rejoined: "If

maiden having been

witlrout saying that she can accompany thee at once'" The
and village. Having
|ousulted, assented, and went off with Habiatan to his house
the young
irrtived at the said place, and after Bugan had observed somewhat
marry
to
|rim, she
Il^,gilat, as if Habialan had asked her whether she desired
is' and
he
grim and fierce as
,,,rr1^/...d, "Ilow am I to wish to marry him (Bagilat),

rrrirkinguseofsuchanextraordinaryspear!Moreover,heneverstops-butis
rllwz,ysrurrningaroundinallpartsoftheskyWorld'throughthenorthandthe

that she did not wish

sOuth, through the east rnd the west"; and she told Habiatan

his effects he harmed

t() marry his-son Bagilat, the Lightning, because through
Habiatan: "Thou
said
Then
herself.
even
might injure
P[:urts, fruits, and possibly
get married
difficulty
great
with
couldst
ir,rt somewhat fastidious, and I see that thou
land'" She
thy
to
rnore
once
return
in these regions; it would be better that thou

people' and that

irnswered that she did not desire to return anymore to her
to
her liking' This
more
point
Itccordingly she would betake herself to some other
and' casting
ofHabiatan'
house
<tialog,,eLeir'rg completed, she went down from the

rie
3r

God of the lightning

26

Philippine Folk Uterature: An Antholo gy . Daninna Etgmia

a glance at the four cardinal points, she saw that the

weather was clear and calm,
and descended on Earth to a place cailed pangagauan, over
(or on) Umbuk, where
there was an Ifugao called Kinggauan-a young man
unmarried, naked, and without
a clout (which he had thrown away because of its age),
because he was engaged in
making pits, or wells, for catching deer with a trap (accorcling
to the custom)-and
there he had a hut. Upon seeing him, Bugan exJaimed: ,,dh!
the poor man! and
how unfortunate!" And, hiding the occurrence from Habiatan,
she determined to
return to her sky region of Luktag in order to manifest to her
father, Hinumbian,
that it was her desire to descend to the Earth world in order
to get married to that

poor Ifugao.

The paternal permission having been obtained, she made

ready the necessary

provisions-consisting of a vessel of cooked rice and a clout

(or bahag).In this
fashion she proceeded to Kinggauan's hut and entered
it, saying: ,,who is the
owner of this hut?" "I," answered Kinggauan, "but I am
arhu-Jd to approach
thee, thou art a woman and I am naked." To which she
replied: ,.Never mind!
because here I have a clout for thee." But he did not
upp.o..h for shame; and so
she threw him the clout from afar, in order that t
e migrrt cover himserf. The
surprised man expressed to her his astonishment, safng,
"why dost thou approach

here knowing that the appearaqce of a woman, *h.r,

ir", are engaged in such an
occupation, is of evil omen for the hunt?" And she replied
to hiri: ;By ,.o means
shall it come to pass as thou thinkest, but, on the contrary,
thou shalt be extremely
lucky in it' For the present let us eat together, and ret r,
,i..p this night in thy hut.
Tomorrow thou shalt see how lucky we are in the hunt." The
foilowing day, upon
goi,g to visit the pits, they actualy found them fulr. Kinggauan
kilred the quarry
and spent the rest of the day in carrying the carcasses
to his hut. He kept arive only
two little pigs, a male and a female, which he delivered to Bugan
that she might tie
them in the dwelling place while he was bringing in the rest
of the dead same. on
the second day Bugan asked the solitary orr.: "\Mhy dost thou
dwell in such evil
places?" Kinggauan answered her: "Because my parents

are so parsimonious in
giving me what I need." Then said Bugan to him: "Let us go
to Kiurrgrr,,,, and he
consented. Leaving then the dead game in the hut, they
.u.ri.d *i,h tiem only the
two live "piglets." Kinggauan carried the mare one, and Bugan
the female one-

arriving at the above-mentioned place on the nightfail of the second

day.
Having arrived at Kiangan, they took up their rodging in the
house of

Kinggauan's mother-the man entering first and then Bugan.

the mother of the
former was surprised, and asked him: ,,Who is this woman?,,
The son answered: ,,I
was at the hunting place and she presented herself to
me there and I do not know
whence she comes." 'rhe aged mother after having rooked
at them a while-when
seated-addressecl hcrself to Bugan and asked: ,,who art
thou? How dost thou
call thyself? From whence dost thou come?" The maiden
replied that her name
was Bugan, that she was the daughter of Hinumbian
and Dakaue, and that she

MYths

27

her descent to that

heLurgrrl t0 the sky region of Luktag. But the reason of
having seen him so
her
was
son,
her
lsttu,j,,*,r,,* region, and of accompanying
came down to visit
and
him
on
pity
pl,rr o,,,1 ,l,,r,,.ted ... "for which reason I took
added that on the
she
...
and
Lltrt nr,.l lirrnish him with an abundance of game"
dead game which
the
collect
to
ftrlfurwirrg tllry the mother should send many people
of the young
mother
the
&ay lu,i l.tf in the lonely hut of her son. By coincidence,
ItlBu wru itlso called Bugan, with the addition of na kantalao'
bond of
l)rrr.ing all this, the young couple had already been united in the
called
place
the
FlHllirtrorry --without any of the prescribed formalities-at
the
name
to whom she gave
lhttg,rtr1,uui,r, and Bugan gave birth to a vigorous son
forth their fruit' The
flalltilk. 'l'hc little pigs, also, which they have brought, gave
Bugan, as a
gr.r,w ar little, tut he did not know yet how to walk. His mother,
*{lllrl

of Kiangan' but
l*rilrg il',,,r, the Sky World, did not eat like the rest of the people
bore her much
people
The
game.
of
meat
and
birds,
llelii",l .'ly boiled rice,
did not like
she
knew
they
because
and,
Ftrvy 1,".t,,,,n" of her being a stranger;
town and to
their
from
her
depart
make
to
t,Ft tBilr vcgt:tables of theirs, they strove
toward her
enry
Their
sky.
the
in
Luktag
tlrtnhr hr:r.sclf to her birthplace of
the object,
With
pigs.
and
fowls
her
of
ltlr rrirrrrl upon their seeing the abundance
her
surround
to
attempted
they
llrnt, ul' clisgusting her, and of driving her away,
succeeded
they
these
with
h$irnr,with certain garden stuffs, greens, and fish.
for which
elte|tively iu making Bugan fall sick with an intense itch and fever;
husband
her
whilg
tesa,,tr slr,, a.bandoned that house and went to another place,
lodging,
of
new place
llrrvr( l t ) a rice granary. But they persecuted her again in her
and causing
tutrorrrrtling it with the vegetables and other things spoken above,
wearisome
such
of
view
In
food.
other
to
accustomed
a
stomach
in
het rr,rrrs,rir
with the
land
her
to
return
to
desire
her
Kinggauan
to
irir,kr, Ilrrgan proposed
well like
should
her:
"I
answered
husband
Her
child.
their
treW l,l,,ssom of spring,
is no
place."
"There
a
high
so
to
of
ascending
afraid
I
am
Iu utir,ornPany thee, but
(a
kind
in
the
up
thee
take
shall
myself
42zd
Bugan,
"I
I,F|1i('lt to be afraid," repiied
did
not
Kinggauan
him,
but
persuade
to
strove
ol' lrurrrrrr()ck).,, she accordingly
but
neither
a
rope,
to
bound
up
him
take
to
lny rrnirl, his iea.; then she attempted
,lt,l *1," clft:ct this. During these labors, she soared aloft with the child to the
followed her she
Irriglrrt ,l' L,uktag, but upon perceiving that her husband had not
for
that purpose.
use
Ifugaos
,"ii, ,1,,*n again, with her son in the band which the
situation, I
the
seest
Alir.r. r,onlr:rring with Kinggauan, she said to him: "Thou
Neither
death'
me unto
t..r1rnill r:0ntinue among thy countrymen, because they hate
r[rrl tlror.r clare to ascend unto Luktag. \Mhat we can do is to divide our son," " ' and
the waist,
rrrrirrg ir. knif'e, Bugan divided her son Balituk in the middle, orjust above
of the upper trunk she left
Brrrl rnirtlt: the following division. The head and the rest
t(irrgg[uan-that it might be easier for him to give a new living being to those
(

lo

,,1'1,",

1'o.u-and

she retained for herself the lower part of the trunk unto the

28

feet; and as for the entrails, intestines, heart, liver, and even the very excrement,
she divided them-leaving the half for her husband. The partition having been

completed, Bugan mounted to her heavenly mansion, taking with her the part of
her son which fell to her lot, and giving it a breath of life, she converted it into a
new celestial being retaining the very name of Balituk. on the other hand,the part
which she had left to her husband, on the earth, began to be corrupted and
decayed, because he, Kinggauan, had not been able, or did not know how, to
reanimate it. The foul odor of the putrefied flesh reached unto the dwelling place
of Bugan in Luktag, and this having been perceived by her, she descended to
Kabunian in order to better acquaint herself with the happening. From Kabunian
she saw that the evil odor issued from the decomposition of the parts of the
entrails which she had left on the earth in charge of her husband, ,.rd which he
had not reanimated. Then she broke forth in cries of grief, piry and compassionand, descending to Kiangan, she severely accused Kinggauan, saying unto him:
"why hast thou allowed our son to rot? And why has thou ,rot q,ri.k"rr"d him to
life?" Upon which he answered that he did not understand the art of reanimation.
Bugan endeavored to remove the greatest possible portion of the corrupted
part of her son. consequently, she changed the head of Balituk into an owl32-a
nocturnal bird called akup by Ifugao-whence the origin of the Kiangan custom
of auguring evil from this bird, and the offering of sacrifices of fowls to Bugan, in
order that no harm should come to them, and that the said fowl should not return
to them.
The ears she threw into the forest, dnd for that reason there came forth from
trees certain growth like chalk, half spherical
[certain species of fungi]. The nose
she threw away and changed it also into a certain species of shell *hi.h
^ttr.h.,
itself to trees. From half of the excrement she made the bill of a small bird
called
ido, from which the Ifugaos augur well or ill, according to certain variation of its
song.33

From the putrefied tongue she produced a malady, or swelling, of the tongue
is cured with a hot egg, or with a chicken, which they offer to their
mother, Bugan.

in men, which

32

Myths

Philippine Folk Uterature: An Antholo gy . Damiana Eugmio

It will

bc noted that most of the things created by Bugan I'rom the corrupted half of
Balituk werc pests and things of evil omen to torment the people of Kiangan as they
had
tormcntcd thcm.
33
ldo, ot irlu, is the Ilugao name for the omcn spirits. A certain small black and white
bird
called ltitpit is bclicved to be an omen spirit; and therelbre it is also properly callerl
irla. When
an Ifuga. is g.ing.n a journey and sees one of these birds, or hea.s iis cry, he immediately
stops and czrlls out to it. Hc tells it where he is going and why. If the bird flies away
to one side
or in a lorwarcl directiou, it is a good sign; but il'it flies backward along the patir, uttering
a
sharp cry ol'fright, it is a very bad omen, and the man will probably ..r.,.., ho,n"
and nor
continue on his.journey until anothcr day.

a venomous

I,tg

Frorn

serpent.
thq h.r.*
l,irrm the bones o[ the breast she created
made
very
long
shells
certain
t6s
fingers
i, 11r.
tJrr uurcle the rainbow. From the
.fingers. From the hair thrown into the water, she created certaiq 111116
lirrrrr ol
she drew forth a bird of red color, called hiruk.
*,,, ,,,* or m-aggots. From the skin
created the smail bats (litalit). From the livq. shs
Iitrrrrr thc t of of the blood she
the intestines she formed a class
of
to.tn a certain disease of the breast' From
rh
"*
or.rats
From
the
bo6s5
rabbits
'
resembling
lamuninf
animals,
6f
*,,,r,.r*t-ru, large
that fall from trees uPon Pa.ssersshe macle pieces of dry or rotted wood
tlre irrrns

lry
' ! wlr<-r aPProach them'

,l.he

Balituk that Bugan reanimated is in

the sky

region of Luktag.

The Oranges of Gawigawen of

Adasen3+

(Tinguial,
'l-herewasahusbandandwife,AponitolauandAponibolinayen.Apo\itola.,
in their bala.un.and Aponibolinayen.was in the house and she6a6 2
tlown
lrry
fruit of the orange tree which belongs to
l,,laclache. "I am anxious to eat the

heard her' "Wh.t i,

lilwigawen of Adasen," said Aponibolinayen' Aponitolau
biwt)s
the
of Matawitawen." "GiVa *. .
tlrirt?,ihe said to her. "I am anxious to eat
and he went. As soon 6 Aponitolau
Aponitolau,
said
it,"
to
get
go
silck and I will
As soon as he arrived in their
6orrr.,
lillccl the sack with biw he went back home'
.,I-Iere is the fruit you wished, Aponibolinayen, Come and get it." "Put it on the
go and get some to eat when r\y head
lramboo hanger above the fire, and I will
So Aponitolau went to put 11,.
yet."
up
get
L,111
tloes not feel io badty, for I cannot
again
in the baiaua.
down
he
lay
on the hanger above the fire and
balaua, Aponibolinayen weQt
to the
A, ,oo"r-, as Aponitolau lay down in the
she
ate it truly. As soon as she q1", ,1r"
and
fruit
biw
the
of
one
peeled
and
kitchen
matter, Aponibolinqr"rra 1
is
vomited ,r-ri ,o she threw them away. "What the
them
She went iryo ,1r.
dropped."
I
think you threw away the fruit." "One of

roomandshesaidagain,..Iamahxioustoeattheor-angesofGawigq*",,o1

,:,:"1*""r::,;:;ll?ftTJ',ffi l,:;lffiT:i:;r::
ti::H,"x:IIiffi
net and secured
116
arrived at the river he threw
A, ,oon

as he

his

a frsh

656

on Phililtptne Folklore , Field Murcum

.l'
1.-, Coopcr-Cole, Traliti6rus of the fngly: !!!b
(1915), Publication 180, i3, Pp. 98.107. 'Iir'l
I
xIV
Series;
Nu,u.ui ifi.,ory, Anthropol.,gical
titlc supplictl'
bf ,. *"dir* nameci Magwati o[ L'agangilang'
.n

3s

A fruit'

30

,z

Plrilippine lblk Literature; An Antholo gy .

Damiana

Eugenio

MyrLs

roe' He cut open the fish and took the

roe. when he had taken out

the roe ht:

spat on the place where he had cut the
fish and it became arive .gr,i., ,,r,1 ,-u.,,
in the river. After that he went back home.
Ancr as soon as he arrivecl at their
house he gave the fish to Aponibolinayen,
and he lay down in the balaua agai.,

and Aponibolinayen went to the kitchen

and she toasted the roe. when she
finished she tasted it, and she vomited,
so she also threw it .*oy. ;Wt ut i,
ttr.
-",1.1: Aponibolinayen?. Why are rhe dogs barking?,, ,,I droppJd
some
of
the
roe'" She went again to the room of the
hJuse. ,,I am anxiou.io.r,t the oranges
which belong to Gawigawen of Adasen."
"what is that, Aponibolinayen,,,said
Aponitolau. "I am anxious to eat a deer's
liver, I said.,, So Aponitorau calred his
do.qs and he went to hunt deer.
As soon as he arrived on the moun tain,,,Ala,
my
black dog, do not catch deer unress it
is in row grass. AIa, my dog Boko,
do
not
catch deer unless it is in a leve l fierd."
Not long after, his dogs .uug.'ht a"", and
he
took out their rivers. As soon as he took
out the river, he ,poi o, tlrl plu.". he
had
cut, and the deer.."
1*.I isagain. Not long after, he went back home. As soon as
he arrived, he said, "Here
the river whicfr yo, wanted. come
and take it.,, ,,put
it in the kitchen' I wi' go and fix it
when my head does ,ot hurt.,,Aponitolau
put
it i, thc kitchen and he wenr to the baraua
again. when Apor-ritoiau was in the
balaua, Aponiborinayen went to the
kitchen ar-,d.ooked the liver and she
tried to
eat' but she vomited again, so she threw
it away,and the dogs a, barke,. ,,what
is the--marter? why do the dogs bark?
I think yo, th..i"
ir.'. livers.,,
Aponibolinayen said, "I threw a'i,ay
what I did not eat, for I did"*.f
not eat all of it.,,
throw them away, for by and by I will
eat, for it i, h;;J;; go and get

,r?:::,

Not long after, she went again to the room

and Aponitorau thought that
Aponibolinayen

did not teil the truth, so he used his pow.r. ,,I

wilr use my power so
that I ca'become a centipede." so
he became a centipede ancl he went
in the crack
of the floor where Aponiborinayen was
rying. Not rong after, Aponiborinayen
said
again, "I am anxious to eat the oranges
*hilh b.to.,g to Gawigawen of Adasen.,,
"I kr.row now what you want; why didlou
not tell the truth ot i;.r"ti ,.t ai i, why you
thrcw:rway all the things I went io
g"t fo. yo.,,'; said Aponitolau, and he
became a
matr .,cl

appeared to her.

iflilill

J::],,"o

"I

did not teli the truth, for

otre who has go,re there has returned,

so

"Al;r, .gr a.cl .qct rice strarv, and

I

I feo..d
r am

you would not

patie,.,t about my

wil

wash my hair.,, Not rong

waslrlrislr:rir:wrr..hefir'rishedwashinghisl-rair,hewenttogetone after, he went to

he rvcrrr lxr.* lrrrrr.' He planted

the

ibolinayer-.,

i\', r;oon as he had dressed, he took his spear and headaxe and he tot'
rlr,rt il'the lawed leaves wilted, he was dead.:r0 So he went.
,-, betel

nut trees

tlljr*ra.^ng.
As soon as he arrived at the well of Gimbangonu":
,1ra,
."11
lr, rw.tl, and Gimbangonan shouted and all the world trembled
*atL. 11e1 lon g
a
^u
.,ll rlrr.world trembles when rhar lady shouts." SoAponitolarr|oolng
to bite his lego
.,1r,.r, the old woman Alokotan saw him and she sent her little,ojsign. It yor.r
ec_
.rrr,l it took out part o[ his leg. "Do nol proceed,loryou have.?-?1,,. ..*". I ."""S;
1,rrr <:zrnnot

return to your town," said the old woman

fii"jlrinS,..Where ale

l,.rck," So he went. As soon as he arrived at the home of the li9n', Gawigawen

$f
1',,,, soing?" said the lightning. "I am going to get th.e oran$es"Irlsr sign is.,, S" la.
,\,1;rst'n." "Go and stand on rhe high srone and I will see.whalJi ,"0 Aponitolau
rv.rt and stood on the high stone and the lightning made a lrsr'*,ill secure you.,,
,lr rrlqcd. "Do not go, for you have a bad sign, and. Gawigar,v"^l
u{ Sitir," it said to
''No, I am going." So he went. As soon as he art'ived at the place ",
the orarrg65

o;

lrirrr, "Where are you going, Aponitolau?" "I am goirg ,or1'onr".if you
have
t i;rwigawen of Adasen." "Stand on top of that high stone so L L"rremade the
grenl
.r qood sign." So he went and silit made a great noise. As soon alr, for you
have a
rr,rise, he jumped. "Go back, Aponitolau, and start another tlII'
l,;rrl sigtt."38 "No,

I go."

so that

you, \y

: "I use my
He arrived at the ocean and he usedr magic.
frLr" as he stood on
f r.irdaxe, may sail as fast as you can when I stand on yor-r." At:t^owas
at the 6t\s1
.,r1

rr.itsailedveryfast.Notlongalter,hewasacrosstheoceattarro'.vcdatthesorino

of lhe occan and he walked again. Nor long after. n, "l)nwhoaredippi,;;

whcre the women went to get water. "Good morninS: you wolTl.c'rrt us in orrVo.rl
wirter from the spring." "Good morning. If you are an enernY'.,iould have
[ill.6
...1I. this the spring
pl:rce so we will not need to cure so much." "lfl were
1".
of
:rll of you when I arrived here." After that he asked them, "l5rr1 the wornsrl
1.,
(,I:lwigawen of Adasen?" "Yes, it is," said the womennij, n" was asleep. gf
.t:
the town to tell Gawigawen, but the women did not tell him,to'r.ro.h"a U..rort
,rp
lrc went up to the town but did not go inside, because the bar'tx,,,;s head.
to the sky and he could not get in. He was sorror,vful 2nd bent-"1ing sorry
abeut,
Soon the chief of spiders we,r ro him: "what areyorrl.r. ono go inro
rhe
Aponitolau?" "I feel sorry because I cannot climb up the- bar'r6tme thiead

,.,lqc

lown." "Do not feel sorry. You wait for

me while

I go up and put

which

'

raruedine,and

,,Mik" ,o*.
.uk., for my
provisionorrllrr'.jorrr-rrcr.,,,.f",donotgo,Aponitolau,,,raidAponiboi;;",,Make
some, for il'yri, tr. rrrt, I wiil go
without proiisions.,,Not long

,iie

,,1,Apon

/ 3l

by the hearth.

after Aponibolinayen
went to cool< <'irkr.s. As soou as she
oilecl his hair, Aponitolal said, ,,Go
ond get my
dark clout ancl ,ry rrt'rt rrrrtr rny rreadbancr.,,
so Apo'ibolinayen went to get them.

Tft"rd""

plarnt servins as a Iile or ticlclity rokcn was.lound

"fh
arrd in Europe. See Cox, An Introrhution to Folkhre (London, 1904);
(Clnlcutta, lBB0, vol. l, p. 86); Parkcr, WkLge Falkt(k.\ 0f CqLzn.
37
:r8

,.r.'icnl

i^i!r.r,
1aw'

Lightning which is accompanied by a loud crash o[' thttndcr. i.'lrs.

The prcsent-day Tinguians attach much importancc to thosc or''

Esyl.lt.

in

Ir1111x,

K,dll,t Srttil grron

,,

UBNANY
MYths
32

Philippine Folk Literature: An Antholo gy . Damiana Eu.qenio

,r

you can hold," said the chief of the spiders.3e So Aponitolau

waited for him. Not
long after, the spider said, "Now you can climb"; so Aponitorau
climbed on the
thread. After he got inside the town of Gawigawen, he went directry
to the house
of Gawigawen. when he arrived there, Gawigawen was still asleep
in his balaua;
he stood and ran to his house and got his headaxe and spear.
Aponitolau said to
him, "Good morning, cousin Gawigawen. Do not be angry with
me. I came here to
buy your oranges for my wife. Aponibolinayen wishes to eat one,
for she alwayr
has a headache, because she has nothing she can eat.,,
Gawigawentook him to hir
house, and he fed him one carabao. "Ifyou cannot eat all
ofthe carabao which I
give you, you cannot have the oranges which your wife wishes
to eat.,, Aponitorau
was sorrowful, for he thought he coulcl not eat all of the carabao
and he bent his
head. Not long after, the chiefs of the ants and flies went
to him. ,,what makes you
feel so badly, Aponitolau?" they said to him. "I am sorrowfur,
for I cannot get the
oranges which Aponibolinayen wishes to eat until I eat
this carabao which
Gawigawen feeds to me." "Do not be sorrowfur,,, said the
chiefs of the ants and
flies' so they called the ants and flies to go and eat the meat and
rice. Not long after,
the flies and ants finished eating the meat and rice, and Aponitolau
was very grad
and he went to Gawigawen and said to him, ,,r have finished
eating the food which
you gave me." Gawigawen was surprised. "what did you
do?,, ,,I-ate all of it.,,
Gawigawen took him where the oranges were, and Aponitolau
saw that the
branches of the tree were sharp knives. Gawigawen said to him, ,,Go
and climb
the tree and get all you waflt." r{e went to climb it. when
he got two of the
oranges, he stepped on one of the knives and he was cut.
so he fastened the fruit
to his spear and it flew back to Kadarayapan. Not long after,
the fruit dropped on
the floor in the kitchen, and Aponibolinayen heard it, and
she went into the kitchen.

As soon as she got there, she saw the fruit and she ate it at
once, and the spear said
to her, 'Aponitolau is in Adasen. IIe sent me first to bring you
the oranges which
you wished." As soon as she ate the oranges she went
to look at the lawed vine by
the stove and it was wilted, ancl she knew that Aponitorau
was dead.
. Not long after, Aponibolinayen gave birth and every time they bathed the
baby it grew one span and soon it was large.{, He often
went to flay with the
other children and his mother gave him a gorden top which
had belonged to his
father when he was a littre boy. when he struck the tops of
the other children, they
were broken at once' Not long after he struck the garbage
pot of the old woman,
and shc was angry and said, ,,If you are a brave boy, you go
ar.rd get your father
whom Gawigawen of Adasen has inherited." And Kanug rr..rt
br,.k'to ah"i, ho.rr"
crying' "I clicl not have a father, you said, mother, but the old
woman saicr he was

3e
nn

Spidcrs, ants, arrcl llios ac( as lrienclly helpers of the hero.

case ol'magic growth. This motif is .o--on in
fblktales

fruit' Now prepare

htlrriterl hy Gawigawen when he went to get the orange
said to
Aponibolinayen
father'"
my
get
to
going
to take, for I am
1*r,vi*i,,,,s Ibr me
.,1),, not go or Gawigawen wili getyou as he did your father." But Kanag said,
Llrr,,
,,ll' yilrr ,1,, ,.,oilet *" go Jrrd do not give me food, I will go without anything'" Not
and Kanag was ready to go' and
htrg nlier; Aponibolinayen cooked food for him
his spear' Not long after, he
and
lrt i,r,t his headaxe which was one span long
wfill,
Agsoonashegottothegateofthetown,hestruckhisshieldanditsounded
brave that boy is!
ont
thousand people, and everyone was surprised' "F{ow
lllr
it sounds like one
and
wr rhink he is braver than his father. He can strike his shield
he
was still striking
Gimbangonan'
llrousitttcl." When he arrived at the spring of
going to fight"'
and when Gimbangor-ra' h"utd, she said' "someone is
htr alrit:lcl,
!

lr

and Kanag looked like

nlrorrted, for he was,r..y huppy and the world trembled

n llirting bird, for he was always moving'

AssoonashearrivedattheplacewhereAlokotanlived,shesentherdogto

off its head' "IIow brave you are'

Itittr, ilrtd the dog ran after him, and Kanag cut
,.I
father is dead. I hope
liltk. lxry!,, am going to Adasen to follow my father." "Your
Kanag went on in a
So
Alokotan'
said
sign,"
good
y,u, *,',t.,." him, for you have a
was' and it said'
thunder
the
where
place
lrtrlly. Not long after, he arrived at the
in Adasen'" So
father
my
follow
to
going
"Wlrilr<: are you going, little boy?" "I am
but Kanag did
rolled,
thunder
the
[rr. wt:nt. As soon as he stood on the high stone,
o'Go at once; I think you can get your
*(,t rrove and the thunder was surprised'
So Kanag went' Not long after' he arrived at

lirtlrcl whom Gawigawen inherits."

tltrllllrceofthelightning,andhemadehimstandonthehighstone.Assoonashe
rtr xrtl

.n it the lightning ilua. a big noise and flash, but

i:- *
i''
r

he did not move' So the boy

wrlrt ilt once, for he had a good sign'

and all the
l{anag struck his shield untillt sounded like a thousand people,
were surprised' for
wr)nlcll who were dipping water at the spring of Gawigawen

tlrrysawonlyalittleboy'*r,ostruckhisshieldapproachingthem,butitsounded

"Good morning, women who

tikr: a thousand. As soon as he arrived at the spring,

that he must prepare' for

rl'rr rlipl:ing water. Go and tell Gawigawen of Adasen
town and told Gawigawen
the
to
ran
women
a fight with him. So all the
o,,,
1;trir-tg

llratastrangeboywasatthespring'Gawigawensaidtothewomen,..Goandtell
if he can'" so one
rhat if it is true that he i, b.^rr", he will come into the town
lritrr

ol'tltc women went to tell him and he went'

used his power
When he arrived at the bank which reached to the sky, I(anag
directly to
went
and
town
the
llrrtl he jumped like the flitting bird, and he entered
he
arrived,
had
he
after
llrc balaua and ho,use of G^*igaw.n of Adasen. Not long
were
town
his
hair and around
xirw that the roof of his house and balaua was of
did not return. It is true that
father
my
is
why
"This
said,
Irrirtls, and Kanag
( lirwigawen is a brave man, but I think I can kill him'"

,,.

/ 33

ran

&&ffitn

34

Philippine Folk Literatur.,

or.lr*il:,gy".ior*no

t g*u

As soon as Gawigawen saw Kanag in

the yard of his house, he said, o,Hotg
brave you are, little boy! why did you
rome here?" ,,I came to get my father,
fo!
you secured him when he came to
get the oranges which my mother
wanted. If
you do not wish to give my father
to me I wilr kill you.,,And Gawigawen
laughecr rr
him and said, "one of my fin_gers will
fight you. you w,r not go back to your
toum,
You will be like your father." Kurrug
rdi, "w" shalr see. Go and get your arms and
we will fight here in the yard of yor.
house.,, Gawigawen U".rL. rrrg.y
and hg
went to get his headaxe, which was as
big as half of ti. rty, ."J;i, ,;;... As
soon
as he returned to the place where
Kuru! was waiting, he said, .,Can you see
my
headaxe, little boy? If r put this on yo.,,
y"ou c..rrot get if off. so you throw
first
so
you can show how brave you are.,,
Kanag said to him, ,,No, you must be first,
so
you will know that f am a brave
boy.,, Gailgawen tried ,o pr, lri, headaxe
on him,
and the boy used his power and he
became a sma, ant and Gawigawen Iaughed
at
him and said, "Now the littre boy is gone.,,
Not long after, the rittre boy stood on his
headaxe and he was surprised. ' tlrJ"
uoy, you are the first who has done
this. your
father did not do this. It is true that
y"" ;;;b.ave; ifyo, can dodge my spear I am
sure you will get your father. so
he threw his spear at him u.rrJK,rr.g
used his
he disappeared and Gawigawen was
surprised. ,,you are the next.,,
l:*tt-Td
Then Kanag used magic so that wrr..-r,
rr" threw his spear at him, it would go
directly to the body of Gawigawen.
As soon * h. tr,..*
[it], Gawigawen fe, down.
Kanag ran to him and cut off his five heads
and there wa. o.r. t.rt,'.rra cawigawen
said to him, "Do not cut offmy rast
head and I w,l go and show you where
your
is'" so Kanag did not cut off the last head,
and they went to see his father.
flher
The skin of his father had been used to
cover a drum, and his hair was used
to
decorate the house, and his head was
praced by the gate of the town, arrd
the
body
was put below the house.
As soon as Kanag had gathered together
the body of his father, he used his
power and said, .,I whip my perfume
banawes and directly he will ,uy
!V"r.,,n, Hi,
father said, "wes'" Not long after he
said prrij nis father stood beside him.
After

that he whipped his performe, dogimoroi..ra

nt

father woke

."a
surprised to see the little boy by him
"pto.rg he was
and he said, ,,who are you? Hori
r ,t"ptt,,

"I am your son' 'How long I srept,' you

inheritedyou. Take my h"^du*" and cut

,uii. yo,

were dead and Gawigawen

off the remaining head of Gawigawen.,,

so he took the headaxe of Kanag and

went to the prace
whe, he struck the headaxe -against Gawigawen, where Gawigawen stood.
it clid not hurt him and
Aponitolau slippecl, and his son llughed
at irrl. ,,what is the matter with you,
father? Gawigawen loo_ks as if he we-re
dead, for he has only one head left.,,
He
took the headaxe from his father and he
went to Gawigawen and he cut off the

MYths'/

Fltl*irrirrghcad.Notlongafteqtheyusedmagicsothattheheadaxesandspears
the spears and headaxes went among the
fu,,, ,,, t iit rrtt tn" p.opl"i" the town' So
his son stood

*trtrlr

in the blood and

irtrd killed aII of them, and Aponitolau Swam

il;;; i;i;,;. i.wno

yo.r, father, that you s\,vam in the blood?

don't have to swim?" Then he took hold of him
Qltt't y,,r, use your power so you
they used their power so
iirt riri"a him up. As soon as all the people were killed,
to Kadalayapan'
ilr*, ntt rhc heads and valuable things went
vine behind the stove and it looked
lawed
aithe
look
to
went
Aponibolinayen
that her son was alive' Not long after'
llfe u,irrrrgle, it was so green, so she believed
Aponibolinayen was surprised. Not long
*ll tt,.t,.'oa, ,rrived irr Kad a|ayapanand
shouted and the world smiled' Not
*llrr, nlrr: saw her husband and her son and she
and summoned all the people and told
Itt*g ulitlr, they went up into their house
from fighting,
all the people in other towns, for Kanag had returned

used, is not I'trily understood by the

storyteilers.

*th

*rrrllurclhisfather'Sothepeoplewenttoinvitetheirrelatives.Notlongafteqthe
,o*.r, u,'i'"d and they danced' They were all glad that
f.,,1,1l,' from other

to see the heads of Gawigawen who had

A1u,,,iruluu *as alive again, and they went

Itl['r I Aponitolau'
the party-was over'
Ar roon as the people returned to their towns' when
he sat down on a
the
brook'
Apunitolau went to take a walk' When he reached
big frog had a
the
after,
long
Not
ltlrrr: and the big frog went to lap up his spittle.
the baby and
get
wettto
anitos42
[rttl| lraby. Not long ,ft",, ,h" gu* bi'th, and the
it was a girl,
and
fast
grew
th""i. po*.. ,o that the baby
llr,w trway with it. They used

nrrrltheytaughtherhowtomakedawak'a3Notlongafter'thegirlknewhowto
dish to summon the spirits'
nurkt: dawak, and every time she rang the

him where he had been

Kanag went to follow his father, but he did not find
sound of thg ringing which sounded
nitrirrg by ih" b.ook, and Kanag heard the
stood still and listened. Not long
iif,., ,"n"'bananalto.M As soon as te heard it, he
and he flew' As soon as he
irlit:r; he used his power so that he became a bird
she said to him, "You are the
iil.r.ived at the place where the girl was making.dawak,
cut me in only one place so
enemy'
an
rrttly person who has come here' If you are
o'I
I
came here, for I heard what
enemy;
am not an
I will not have so much to heal."

youweredoing;solbecameabirdandflew'"Kanaggavebetelnuttoherandthey
.1,.*.d.Theirquidslookedlikethebeadspinogalnlt,sotheyknewthattheywere
..Go

inside the big iron caldron so that the

llrother and sister' The girl said to him,
went inside the big iron
i.ttitos who care for -". *itt not eat you'" So Kanag

a2

Spirits'
ills. It also forms a part of the
A short ceremony held for the cure of fever ancl minor

nrorc extensive rites.

rhis pcculiar cxprcssion, whirc frequentry

is the matter

lltrtrr trl invite

a3

'tr

3'5

like the medium when she

An evil spirit which lives in the air and makes a sound
srrntmoning the sPirits.
aa

is

36

/ Philippine

caldron. V\rhen the anitos did not arrive at the accusto66d time, Kanag went
out
of the caldron and said to his sister, o'Now, my sister, I wilr 17.ke you to Kadalayapan,
Our father and mother do not know that I have a sister. Do not stay always with
the anitos." His sister replied, "I cannot go to Sudipana5 when no one is making
balaua, for I always make dawak as the anitos tauitrt me, If I come to sudipai

when no one is making balaua it wourd make ail of ihe people very ilr." so
Kanag
went home.

As soon as he arrived, he told his father and mother to make balaua, for
he
wanted his sister to see them. "we just made balaua. [Iew can we make balaua

again?" said his father and mother. "I want you to see my sister whom I found
up
in the air, where the anitos took her." "you ar,. ctazy,Kana$iyou have no
sisters or
brothers; you are the only child we have.,,Kanagsaid 1s them, ,,It is sure
that I
have a sister. I don't know why you did not know
about fuer. The anitos took her
when she was a little baby and they taught her how to 1y12166 dawak, and she
always
makes dawak. I wanted to bring her when I came
back, but she said she could not
come to sudipan when no one makes baraua, for
she is alwals making dawak. she
said if she came to 'sudipan and did not make
dawak, everyone would f,e ilr, so I did
not bring her. If you wish to see your daughter, Father,
62ke balaua at once.,, So
they made balaua, for they wished to see iheir daughter.
Tl", sent messengers to go and get betel nuts which were covered with gold,
and when they had secured the betel nuts, they oiled thern and sent them
to the
different towns where their relatives lived, and ihey sent one into the air to go
and
get their daughter Agten-nga-Eyan. So all the
betel nuts went and invlted tne
people to the balaua' As soon as the betel nut went
up into the air,it arrived where
Agten-,ga-Eyan was making dawak. when she saw the
r6tel nut beside her, she
was startled, for it was covered with gold. she
tried to cut it up, for she wished to
chew it, and the betel nut said, "Do not cut me, for
your brother and father in
Kadalayapan sent me to summon you to their balaua, for
they are anxious to see
you." So Agten-nga-Eyan told the anitos that a betel
nu1 \ /hich was covered with
gold had come to take her to Aponitorau who was
mar<rng sqltang, and they wished
to see her' The anitos let her go, but they advised
her toieturn. So she went.
when they arrived in Kadalayapan, the people from the other towns were
dancing and she went below the talagana, and Kanag went to see what it
was that
Iooked like a flame beneath the talagan. \Atren he
lached her, he saw it was his
sister and he tried to take her away from the talagan,
,,I
and she said to him,
cannot
get off from here, for the anitos who care for meiold
me to stay here until someone
comes to make dawak with me." so they sent the
ord woman Arokotan to make

Thc spirits'word Ibr ,,world.,,

a6
A small bcnch macle lirr thc use of spirits and visiting moftals.
a5

Myths

Folk Uterature: An Anthol ogy . Damiana Eugmio

37

rlawak with her. All the people were surprised, for she made a more pleasant sound
wfien she sang and they thought she was a bananayo. The young men who went to
the
irtt.end the balaua loved her, for she was pretty and knew very well how to sing
her
io
talagan,
the
to
leave
free
was
she
dawak,
the
Iinished
they
rla.wak. As soon as

lrrother Kanag took her and put her in his

xo the young men could not reach her.

beltaT

and he put her in the high houseas

was over, the people went home, but the young men still
rr:mained below the house watching her, and the ground below became muddy, for

[5 soon as the balaua

lhey always remained there.

when Kanag saw the young men below the house fighting over heq he took
lrcr again into the air so that the young men could not see her' As soon as they
Irrrived in the air, they met the anitos, and Kanag said to them, "I intended to keep
rrry sister in Sudipan, for I had made a little golden house for her to live in, but I
fiave brought her back, for all the young men are fighting over her." The anitos
rvr:re glad that she was back with them and they gave Kanag more power, so that
wlrcn he should go to war he would always destroy his opponents' Agten-ngaliyiur used to go and teach the women how to make dawak when anyone made
lxrlaua, so that she taught them very well how to make dawak. This is all.
(Told by a medium named Magwati of Lagangilang')

r7'l,his inciclent is frequently lbund in these.tales. It also occurs inJavanese literature.

rrr'l'lrt: tcrm liised,is al-ligm-the high watch house in the fields'